Date unknown.
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David,
king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity
of vanities; all is vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which
he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another
generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and
hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth
about unto the north; it whirleth about
continually, and the wind returneth again
according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea
is not full; unto the place from whence the
rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter
it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor
the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which
shall be; and that which is done is that which
shall be done: and there is no new thing under
the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See,
this is new? it hath been already of old time,
which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things;
neither shall there be any remembrance of things
that are to come with those that shall come after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by
wisdom concerning all things that are done under
heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the
sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under
the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation
of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight:
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I
am come to great estate, and have gotten more
wisdom than all they that have been before me
in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience
of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know
madness and folly: I perceived that this also is
vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that
increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove
thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and,
behold, this also is vanity.
2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth,
What doeth it?
3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto
wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom;
and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what
was that good for the sons of men, which they
should do under the heaven all the days of their
life.
4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I
planted me vineyards:
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted
trees in them of all kind of fruits:
6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the
wood that bringeth forth trees:
7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants
born in my house; also I had great possessions of
great and small cattle above all that were in
Jerusalem before me:
8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the
peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces:
I gat me men singers and women singers, and the
delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments,
and that of all sorts.
9 So I was great, and increased more than all that
were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained
with me.
10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not
from them, I withheld not my heart from any
joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour:
and this was my portion of all my labour.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands
had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured
to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of
spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness,
and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after
the king? even that which hath been already done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as
light excelleth darkness.
14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool
walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that
one event happeneth to them all.
15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the
fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then
more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also
is vanity.
16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than
of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the
days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth
the wise man? as the fool.
17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is
wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all
is vanity and vexation of spirit.
18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under
the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that
shall be after me.
19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or
a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour
wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed
myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair
of all the labour which I took under the sun.
21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and
in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath
not laboured therein shall he leave it for his
portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the
vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured
under the sun?
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail
grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night.
This is also vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he
should eat and drink, and that he should make his
soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that
it was from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto,
more than I?
26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight
wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he
giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may
give to him that is good before God. This also is
vanity and vexation of spirit.
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to
plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break
down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to
mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather
stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to
refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep,
and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep
silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war,
and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein
he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to
the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:
also he hath set the world in their heart, so that
no man can find out the work that God maketh from
the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a
man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink,
and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the
gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be
for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing
taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should
fear before him.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to
be hath already been; and God requireth that which
is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of
judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place
of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous
and the wicked: for there is a time there for every
purpose and for every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the
sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that
they might see that they themselves are beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth
beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one
dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one
breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a
beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and
all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward,
and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to
the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better,
than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for
that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see
what shall be after him?
1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions
that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of
such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter;
and on the side of their oppressors there was power;
but they had no comforter.
2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead
more than the living which are yet alive.
3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet
been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done
under the sun.
4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right
work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour.
This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his
own flesh.
6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the
hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea,
he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end
of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with
riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and
bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it
is a sore travail.
9 Two are better than one; because they have a good
reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:
but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he
hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat:
but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand
him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and
foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also
he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
15 I considered all the living which walk under the
sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his
stead.
16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that
have been before them: they also that come after shall
not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and
vexation of spirit.
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God,
and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice
of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart
be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in
heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words
be few.
3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of
business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude
of words.
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay
it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which
thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that
thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin;
neither say thou before the angel, that it was an
error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice,
and destroy the work of thine hands?
7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there
are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and
violent perverting of judgment and justice in a
province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is
higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher
than they.
9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king
himself is served by the field.
10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with
silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase:
this is also vanity.
11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat
them: and what good is there to the owners thereof,
saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he
eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will
not suffer him to sleep.
13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the
sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to
their hurt.
14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he
begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall
he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of
his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points
as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he
that hath laboured for the wind?
17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he
hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and
comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the
good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun
all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for
it is his portion.
19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and
wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and
to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour;
this is the gift of God.
20 For he shall not much remember the days of his
life; because God answereth him in the joy of his
heart.
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and
it is common among men:
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and
honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of
all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power
to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is
vanity, and it is an evil disease.
3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many
years, so that the days of his years be many, and his
soul be not filled with good, and also that he have
no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better
than he.
4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in
darkness, and his name shall be covered with
darkness.
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any
thing: this hath more rest than the other.
6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told,
yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the
appetite is not filled.
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath
the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering
of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of
spirit.
10 That which hath been is named already, and it is
known that it is man: neither may he contend with him
that is mightier than he.
11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity,
what is man the better?
12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life,
all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a
shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him
under the sun?
1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and
the day of death than the day of one's birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than
to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end
of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of
the countenance the heart is made better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than
for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is
the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift
destroyeth the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning
thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than
the proud in spirit.
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger
resteth in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days
were better than these? for thou dost not enquire
wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there
is profit to them that see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence:
but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth
life to them that have it.
13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that
straight, which he hath made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day
of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over
against the other, to the end that man should find
nothing after him.
15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity:
there is a just man that perisheth in his
righteousness, and there is a wicked man that
prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself
over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself ?
17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish:
why shouldest thou die before thy time?
18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this;
yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he
that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty
men which are in the city.
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that
doeth good, and sinneth not.
21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken;
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that
thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will
be wise; but it was far from me.
24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can
find it out?
25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and
to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to
know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and
madness:
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose
heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso
pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner
shall be taken by her.
27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher,
counting one by one, to find out the account:
28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man
among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all
those have I not found.
29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man
upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the
interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh
his face to shine, and the boldness of his face
shall be changed.
2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and
that in regard of the oath of God.
3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in
an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who
may say unto him, What doest thou?
5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil
thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time
and judgment.
6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment,
therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can
tell him when it shall be?
8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to
retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day
of death: and there is no discharge in that war;
neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given
to it.
9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto
every work that is done under the sun: there is a
time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own
hurt.
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and
gone from the place of the holy, and they were
forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is
also vanity.
11 Because sentence against an evil work is not
executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of
men is fully set in them to do evil.
12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his
days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be
well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither
shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow;
because he feareth not before God.
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that
there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to
the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to
whom it happeneth according to the work of the
righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better
thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to
be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour
the days of his life, which God giveth him under the
sun.
16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see
the business that is done upon the earth: (for also
there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with
his eyes:)
17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot
find out the work that is done under the sun: because
though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not
find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to know
it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
1 For all this I considered in my heart even to
declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise,
and their works, are in the hand of God: no man
knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before
them.
2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to
the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to
the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth,
and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is
the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an
oath.
3 This is an evil among all things that are done under
the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also
the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and
madness is in their heart while they live, and after
that they go to the dead.
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is
hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead
know not any thing, neither have they any more a
reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy,
is now perished; neither have they any more a portion
for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy
wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy
works.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head
lack no ointment.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the
days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given
thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for
that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour
which thou takest under the sun.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is
not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither
yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of
understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but
time and chance happeneth to them all.
12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes
that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that
are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared
in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it
seemed great unto me:
14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and
there came a great king against it, and besieged it,
and built great bulwarks against it:
15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he
by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered
that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength:
nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and
his words are not heard.
17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than
the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner
destroyeth much good.
1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to
send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly
him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's
heart at his left.
3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way,
his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that
he is a fool.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee,
leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great
offences.
5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as
an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in
low place.
7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking
as servants upon the earth.
8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso
breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he
that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge,
then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is
profitable to direct.
11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment;
and a babbler is no better.
12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but
the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is
foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous
madness.
14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what
shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell
him?
15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of
them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and
thy princes eat in the morning!
17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son
of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for
strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and
through idleness of the hands the house droppeth
through.
19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry:
but money answereth all things.
20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse
not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air
shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall
tell the matter.
1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find
it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou
knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves
upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south,
or toward the north, in the place where the tree
falleth, there it shall be.
4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that
regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit,
nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is
with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God
who maketh all.
6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether
shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they
both shall be alike good.
7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is
for the eyes to behold the sun:
8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them
all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for
they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart
cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the
ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes:
but know thou, that for all these things God will bring
thee into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away
evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are
vanity.
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the
stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after
the rain:
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall
tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and
the grinders cease because they are few, and those
that look out of the windows be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the
sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at
the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick
shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high,
and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree
shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden,
and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long
home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl
be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or
the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still
taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed,
and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words:
and that which was written was upright, even words of
truth.
11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails
fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given
from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of
making many books there is no end; and much study is a
weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear
God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole
duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with
every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it
be evil.